


Midflight

by Russy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Wings, Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker is a Good Dad, Angel Wings, Bonding, Child Luke Skywalker, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Good Parent Anakin Skywalker, Grooming, How Do I Tag, I just wanted to write fluff with winged luke and anakin, I'm not really sure about all the particulars of this au, Kid Fic, Parent-Child Relationship, Seriously though this may be too fluffy for some, Shy Luke, Single Parent Anakin Skywalker, Skywalker Family Feels, The Force, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wing Grooming, Wingfic, Wings, and I did, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Russy/pseuds/Russy
Summary: Winged AU with Anakin and Luke.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker
Comments: 25
Kudos: 158





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a total sucker for Luke and good (single) dad Anakin/Vader. This is my first time writing a story with the two of them, and I am almost sure I want continue this AU, especially since I noticed there aren't any other wing AUs with Luke and Anakin/Vader. Reviews, ideas and prompts are much appreciated. Enjoy 🧡

"Stand still, Luke", Anakin chided gently as he ran his fingers through his son's soft wings. Luke was perched on a chair in the middle of the room, his massive, shiny black wings spread out on either side of him. 

Anakin continued to brush through the soft feathers, smoothing out Luke's wings and gently pulling away all of the feathers that had been shed or ready to fall out, stuck in odd angles. The repetitive, gentle movements made the sensation mostly soothing for his son, but it sometimes became irritating whenever his fingers snagged on a rogue feather that might not have been all that ready to come out yet, which made Luke twitch and want to pull away, giving room to the possibility of accidentally pulling out feathers that were firmly lodged into the skin. That had happened a few times already, and Luke had yelped so pitifully that it made Anakin want to coo at him.

Luke did his best to stay still as Anakin groomed him, privately basking in all of the attention his father was giving him. It still seemed surreal, even though a couple of days had passed already, that he was with his father. His _father_ , who Luke had been told was dead, had come to get him, to take him away from the miserable sandy wasteland of a planet he had grown up on, from relatives who, although somewhat caring, had never been wholly affectionate with him. They had never really hugged him or played with him when he was little, and they had told him his father was dead, when he, in fact, was not. But his father had thought Luke was dead, too, he had believed him to have died with his mother. 

So here Luke was, a couple of days later, with his father, who lived in a castle on a planet in the Core. His fully alive father, who had the Force, and who had _wings_ , just like him. Luke knew that not many people had wings, that you couldn't have them unless you were strong with the Force. He hadn't even _known_ he was Force sensitive before meeting his father, let alone that he was powerful enough to be winged.

His wings were black and shiny, and they extended about a meter and a half on each side of his body when Luke spread them out. He could retract them when he wanted to, and they would disappear as if they hadn't ever been there, and no one would know. His father had known though, he could feel it in the Force the moment he saw him for the first time, and he'd explained that Luke hadn't ever opened his wings before simply because he didn't know they existed. Anakin had said it might take a bit of time for him to adjust to having wings, and it was true. At first he couldn't even open them properly, they felt heavy and his movements had been sluggish and slightly uncoordinated, though now it seemed easier to spread his wings, to furl and unfurl them, but the prospect of flying still made Luke nervous. His father hadn't really brought it up yet, but Luke wasn't sure he could ever be able to maneuver his wings so effortlessly and gracefully, as Anakin had yesterday when he'd seen him fly from the balcony and down to the courtyard below.

Anakin's wings were glossy and black, just like his son's. He did resemble his father quite a lot, Luke noticed, from his light blue eyes to his brows and cleft chin and shaggy dark blonde hair, although his was cut short, whereas Anakin's barely brushed his shoulders. His father's wings were way bigger than his, too, he remarked, almost by two meters.

When Luke had first seen Anakin expose and unfurl his wings he had gaped, and, although he was usually shy and he had thus far been hesitant around his newly found father, he had asked if his wings would ever be that big one day, too.

"You're still little", his father had said, "they will grow, still", to which Luke replied that he was not little, because he was 13 years old, thank you very much. Anakin had laughed at that, his blue eyes sparkling, before patting Luke gently on the head.

Luke leaned back in his chair, sighing softly. The feel of his father's hands carefully ranking through his feathers was oddly comforting, and he was surprised by how attentive he was with him, how he always asked Luke if he needed anything, how he sometimes stroked his hair or patted his shoulder or his back, how he had given Luke a hug the first time he met him. Last night, when he was in a half - dreamy, foggy stupor, at the edge of falling asleep, and his eyelids were heavy and almost fully closed, he was almost sure he had felt Anakin quietly come to his room and tuck the blankets around him, bringing them up under his chin before petting his hair and pressing his lips to his forehead with a mumbled _'I love you'_.

"There, all finished", Anakin told him, running a hand along the top of his right wing, "it'll feel better now", and it did already. Luke had been squirming and, when Anakin asked, he said that his wings were itching, and his father had explained it was because they had never been groomed before. "It won't take quite this long to groom you next time, either, since this was your first time and you had a lot of feathers ready to fall out." 

Luke nodded, standing up from his chair and shifting his wings a little before folding them up slightly. He looked up at Anakin, offering a quiet _'thank you'_ and a tentative, small smile, to which his father answered with a wider one of his own. It made the skin around his eyes crinkle slightly, and the scar that cut through his right brow curled along with it.

"You're welcome, Luke.", he said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come, now, let's try to fly for a bit."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A direct continuation of the first chapter, with Luke flying for the first time.

_"You're welcome, Luke.", he said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come, now, let's try to fly for a bit."_

Luke swallowed, looked down at his feet, looked anywhere but at his father. 

"Luke?", Anakin asked, frowning, "what's wrong?"

The boy bristled and shuffled for a moment before stilling and looking up, not quite meeting his father's blue gaze."What if... but what if I can't do it?", he mumbled.

"What if you can't do what, Luke?"

"What if I can't fly?"

"Oh Luke," Anakin intoned, sighing softly before bringing up a hand to rub his back, right between the top of his shoulderblades, above where his wings started, "don't be silly. Of course you can fly. Come on, I'll help you. Don't be afraid."

Luke still looked - and felt - very unsure about this, but he didn't want to disappoint his father, so he nodded and followed him out of the sitting room and onto the balcony. The balcony was big, almost as large as the room they had just exited, and it had no railings since, more often than not, Anakin took off directly from there when he had to leave the castle and there was no need for a ship.

They stopped a few paces away from the edge, and Luke peered down. They were a few stories above the ground. He swallowed and took a half step back. Already, the ground appeared to be very, _very_ far away.

"Luke?" came Anakin's voice, softer than usual as he looked at his son, his brows slightly drooped in concern. "It's alright. Nothing bad's going to happen, little one. I promise."

Luke closed his eyes for a moment as he felt his father stroke the side of his cheek with the back of his fingers. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Anakin smiling down gently at him. 

Daring to throw another skeptical glance at the ground below, he frowned a bit before speaking "But what if I fall?"

"You won't fall, Luke. And even if you do, I'll be right here to catch you. You're not going to get hurt, I promise."

"Uh... okay."

"Come on", Anakin said, exposing his massive, shiny black wings and spreading them slightly before stepping off the balcony.

Luke looked at his father, who had turned to face him. He was hovering in the air about a meter away from the edge of the balcony, his wings fully spread out and gently moving. The small smile, patient and encouraging, had never let his face, and he was looking at the boy with kind eyes. It made Luke's heart feel gooey and warm, to know that his father was willing to help him, to make him feel safe, that he never rebuked him and he was ever - patient. 

"C'mere", he said, and Luke moved forward, the tips of his boots brushing at the stone edge of the balcony.

"Take my hands", Anakin said, extending them to his son, who did as he was told. "Good, now, spread your wings and step over."

The boy looked at him uncertainly again, but Anakin continued to smile reassuringly as he nodded slightly, squeezing Luke's hands in his own larger ones.

Luke was really, really scared. He had never done anything like this before, and he wasn't completely sure he would be good at flying, but he didn't want to disappoint his father, who had been patient and who was always nice with him, like no one else had ever been before. So, he reluctantly stepped over, squeezing Anakin's hands as tightly ad he could. He closed his eyes for half a second, waiting for the impact that never came.

He _was_ flying, he realised. His wings had begun moving instinctually the moment he stepped off of the balcony, keeping him afloat. He didn't know what he had expected, really, but he certainly hadn't thought it would come so naturally.

Anakin beamed at his son, who was now hovering in the air next to him, still holding onto his hands, although his grip had loosened briefly. "Good job, Luke! See? That wasn't so bad. I know it must have been scary though. I'm proud of you for being so brave."

Luke's cheeks reddened slightly even as he returned the smile with a big grin of his own, and the boy's delight at the praise was clearly resonating through the Force. This was the first time he had seen his son smile so widely, Anakin realised, and it made a pleasantly warm, fuzzy feeling settle itself in the pit of his stomach.

"Let's try to move a little, hmm?" Anakin said, already pulling Luke gently through the air, gauging his reaction. 

Now that the initial fear had mostly worn out, it was swiftly replaced by gleeful enthusiasm, and soon Anakin found himself chasing through the air after his son, who was giggling and squealing all the while.

He was still terribly upset that he had missed so much of his son's life, but yet he was reminded that there was still time, and it was the one thing he couldn't thank the Force enough for.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the beginning, I want to continue this AU, either by adding more chapters to this story or by making it into a series.  
> Reviews are always nice to read and requests are open!!  
> My tumblr is rrusi-writes, if you wanna request something or just pop by to say hi. 💞


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